


Not Even Amara Had Captivated Him Like This

by laughinginthebreeze



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Background Relationships, Backstory, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Smut, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-14 09:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4559328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laughinginthebreeze/pseuds/laughinginthebreeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>IMPROVED Silas never expected to fall in love again. Especially not with her. His infatuation with her looks had grown far beyond just that. He was in love with a woman who couldn't possibly love him back. Will Katherine Pierce ever learn to truly love someone again? Kilas and Steroline. Story much better than summary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is basically a redo of "Not even Amara had captivated him like this" because looking back, I feel that there's a lot to improve on, and that my characters weren't very accurate. This story will have more of a slow burn kilas romance and be based on more tvd storylines.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or it's characters, they belong to Julie Plec and L.J Smith, I'm using the characters and some storylines for my own creative purposes. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> Thanks for reading :-)

_**Endarkened Loneliness** _

_**PROLOGUE:** _

It was a Tuesday night when he died.

The hint of dawn approaching, touching the sky with a hint of colour against darkness. Such a mundane, kind of normal thing to say, but the circumstances said otherwise.

Buildings lay shattered into pieces, fire erupting from their depths. It could be seen even from where they were standing, on a hill in a forest, surrounded by trees. The smoke and screams could be detected miles away. The explosion had destroyed the travellers like intended, the plan had worked well that far, everyone was breathing again. Those who had died in the battle for Mystic Falls now had a second chance at life. Well, almost everyone.

He laughed bitterly at the irony of it all; how for two thousand years all he had wanted was to die when he couldn't, and when the opportunity finally occurred, it had become his worst nightmare.

All because of the girl sitting right in front of him on the floor.

Her face was puffy from crying; tears streamed down her face leaving streaks of mascara behind, as she huddled against the wall in a ball. Her sobbing cut through him like a knife; he burned inside knowing that she was crying for him, and he couldn't do anything about it.

She sniffled and looked up, eyes scouring desperately around her. Twice her eyes passed over him, and it felt like stones sinking down in his stomach.

"W-why?" She whispered, before her face crumpled again. He took another step closer and knelt down in front of her, trying to alleviate her pain, but what _could_ he do? He was now a spirit, essentially useless, an empty void, and she wouldn't see or hear him trying to comfort her.

"Why did you leave me?" Her voice cracked, and he smiled sadly at her.

"I didn't have a choice, sweetheart." Silas muttered, though he knew she couldn't hear him. "I didn't want to."

"You shouldn't have done it. You knew what would happen and I told you not to and you did it anyway. You _lied_ to me."

He swallowed the guilty lump lodged in his throat, before reaching out and touching her hand. A useless, meaningless gesture, but she jerked as though electrocuted and stared at her hand as though it were her lifeline.

"I'd say I'm sorry," he whispered, running his thumb over her knuckle. "But you can't hear me, and I can't tell you how sorry I am for leaving you, so there's no point. But I'm not sorry you're still alive, even if it is without me."

She sniffled, but remained still, eyes fixated on her hand that he grasped.

"I love you, Silas," she cried, tears slipping down her face. "I'm so sorry that I never said it."

He smiled again, though this time it wasn't out of sadness. Those were the words he had wanted to hear from her for so long, that he could almost forget that she wouldn't be able to hear him say it back.

A cold breeze swept through the forest, icing him to his bones. He shivered as it blew past him, but she didn't flinch. Only he could feel it. Which meant he didn't have much time left. There was only one thing left to do.

Reaching past her with his free hand, Silas slid his hand into her back pocket, removing her phone. She jumped silently and stared at it, mouth open in shock as he typed in her password he had long since committed to memory and brought up a new text box. There, he quickly typed out his message, pouring out everything he wanted to say to her, that he would never get the chance to say, and then placed the phone in her lap. Her eyes brimmed over with fresh tears again as she read it, and he stood up, letting go of her hand as he prepared to say goodbye. She felt the instant loss of his hand against hers, and looked up again.

"Don't go! I love you, Silas, please don't go!" She suddenly yelled hysterically, panic in her eyes.

"And I love you, Katherine Pierce. But you already know that." He whispered, willing himself not to cry, before bending down and kissing her forehead. Then, he turned around and walked away, every step feeling heavier and heavier the further away he got from her, and the more shrill her cries for him became.

Bonnie, the only person who could see him, looked at him with something close to pity and sympathy in her eyes. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't the only one dying tonight.

"Bonnie! Bonnie!" Jeremy's cries split the air as he came ever closer, another manipulated and decieved in the name of love, mingled with Elena's hysterical cries of despair for Damon and Katherine's sobs. The sound of mourning and death.

They couldn't see them anymore. Jeremy, Matt, Alaric, Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Tyler, Nadia. Katherine. They stood there, doning masks of shock and grief on their faces as they frantically searched for people who were already gone.

The wind was picking up more strongly now; it crackled and whipped at his clothes and Bonnie's hair. Bright lights were exploding into his vision; a reminder that his time was near. And he had never felt more scared or alone.

Damon came running up to them, squinting into the bright lights and fighting the wind threatening to blow them away.

"This place is going down, isn't it?" Damon said, as the earth began to tremor.

"It is." Bonnie said.

"And," she looked at the both of them. "I'm sure there are about a million people we'd all rather be with right now, but..." She reached out and took Damon's hand.

"A couple of thousand at most." Damon joked, managing a small smirk, though the fear still shone in his eyes.

Silas smiled hesitantly. "I know this should have been said a long time ago, and it won't make up for anything, but I'm sorry I killed your dad. Really I am." If he was dying, might as well try and find peace like he intended to, right?

Bonnie smiled a little, then reached out her other hand towards him. "It doesn't, but thank you."

Silas took it, holding on for dear life as the earth began violently vibrating out of control, dizzying and dangerous. He thought of Katherine, and more than anything wished he could be with her instead right now. They'd gone down such a long and dark journey it seemed hard to believe it was ending now, and he felt like laughing at the insanity of it all.

"Do you think it will hurt?" Bonnie asked. The steeliness in her tone didn't quite cover up her fear. It was something he honestly didn't even want to think about, so he focused on Katherine, the hope of seeing her again, her face, smirking and devious in his mind, was the last thought he had.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Damon shrug. "I don't kno-"

And then there was nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Hunger. Starving. Blood.

Three thoughts, one purpose; to mindlessly feed until there was nothing left.

Stone cracking on his marble hard skin, cold and unyielding. Even after two thousand and twenty seven years, four months, and eight days, Silas was barely closer to escaping than the very day he'd been put here. His psychic abilities, useful, though waning, were enough to draw people to him, but not enough to get him out.

He wasn't strong enough because he was forgotten. No-one knew what he looked like, no-one knew his last name even, he was just a stony legend, rumoured to hold the one thing treasured and wanted above all; the cure for immortality.

He couldn't even really remember what was happening, why he was here, just that he wanted revenge, a burning desire to seek vengeance against Qetsiyah, to maim and destroy the world for abandoning him. But most of all he just wanted to find peace.

People came and went, dripping blood into his wasting cave for answers and the promise of their loved ones that they would never get.

One face kept him alive, from giving up and taking the cure; giving up the fight he swore to upkeep no matter what.

Amara.

**-X-**

The first thing that woke him up was the blood.

Rusty, warm, blood flooding down his throat in delicious waves. His eyes peeled open, stone melting and crumbling as blood poured freely from the neck his mouth was now pressed against. Blackness erupted in his vision, foggy and fuzzy as his eyesight cleared, and _something_ else.

Over the head of the hunter whose blood he was drinking, the pale face of someone he used to know. Flickers of memories long since forgotten stirred in his mind, of the face that loomed above him.

She was Amara, but not Amara. A shadow self.

Interesting, but not as interesting as the blood gushing into his mouth. He didn't care, not about anything as his stomach filled and his strength grew. This was the most delicious thing he had tasted in at least a thousand years and he couldn't get enough. His hand loosened, gnarled stone and decay, reaching up towards his live meal. He grabbed the Hunter's neck, abandoning the vial containing his only hope.

His senses heightened - he was running on euphoria as the life drained into him from the man above him. He could see everything so clearly, every crevice, every rock...

The Amara look-a-like whisking away, clutching the cure in her hand, but he couldn't right now find it in him to care.

He was free. Free from the cursed stone that had entombed him here for _years._ Centuries, even. Relishing in his newfound power, he tightened his grip on the Hunter, draining him of the last of his blood, before snapping his neck, letting him drop to the ground.

Obviously that wasn't enough, not by a long shot, soon he would need to gorge on more blood to replenish himself, but it was enough for now.

The stone crumbled away as he sat up; tearing away the thorns and vines, scraping at the encased armour around his head, grimy fingernails ripping, bloody and stinging before they healed all over again, marveling at every moment he made, slow and rigid, but _moving._ Silas never thought he'd be grateful for something like that.

The blood was running through his veins, smoothing the cracks in his skin, the stiffness in his bones and muscles, as he slowly but surely gained speed, making his way out of the cave.

Silas needed to _see_ the _sunlight. Feel_ the warmth of its rays upon his face again, and _taste_ the fresh air. He did just that, standing there, hidden in the forest, face up to the darkening (disappointedly) night sky, gulping down the cool, refreshing air that was useless to his lungs, but seemed as more of a wake-up call than anything. He didn't know how long he stood there; minutes, hours, perhaps; time had lost meaning to him.

A branch snapped behind him, alerting him to the presence of another. He whipped around, spotting a man with a thick curly beard and hair, dragging a clearly broken leg with him away from the cave, a short distance away. He triggered a faint memory in Silas' mind; he remembered posing as the man's wife through hallucinations, convincing him to complete the expression triangle and release him.

Curiosity led him on and, following behind, obscured by shadows, Silas saw the man stumble and trip until he arrived at a clearing that had clearly been previously occupied by other people. There was still a smoking bundle of wood in the middle, and the man quickly fumbled around in his pocket, pulling out an odd, small rectangular object that looked hard and shiny. He pressed a button on it and a _flame_ flickered out the end, which he used to relight the wood.

This man - Shane - was the key. In order to complete the expression triangle, he needed to pose as him to the witch, the ancestor to Qetsiyah. Bonnie Bennett, he believed.

Who was currently lying in a pool of her own blood back in his tomb.

He sighed irritably to himself. In order to get the witch to help him, he would have to use another disguise, of one she trusted, who she knew had the information to help her. Shane was the perfect disguise.

He tore the rest of the stone helmet fixated onto his head off, tossing it aside with disgust, running his hands over his face, feeling the dry, flaky skin peeling off of his skin, the small, withered beard that had managed to grow underneath his stone casing. Then, he stepped up behind Shane, his list for blood soaring out of control, and swiftly kicked him in the back, shattering his spine, and effectively ending his life. From there, he sliced the man's wrist open with his teeth and drank greedily, every single drop until there was nothing left and _still_ it wasn't enough.

The girl who looked like Amara flashed before his eyes again, a stubborn, wily look upon her face. He shook the image of her out of his head. She was a distraction he didn't quite need yet.

 _First things first._ He decided, stomping back towards his cave.

Bonnie Bennett, then he needed to get off of this island.

**-X-**

He watched them all for weeks on end. Patiently biding his time, the opportunity to die. It hasn't been easy; he had to admit that. They lived in large houses, dotted around everywhere so it was hard to keep track. The Hunter's curse was also another affiliation that hindered him, though that was easily shoved aside within a few minutes - an easy enough task. His psychic powers were growing, and nothing would stop him from achieving what he came to Mystic Falls for - a peaceful afterlife.

He used them on Bonnie, manipulated her into channelling expression, to complete the last triangle, no matter the cost. Nothing mattered, not if it meant he would be with Amara again.

Getting her to kill those twelve witches was tricky. Especially as they extracted his power from her mind, loosening his hold and cleansing her body of expression. He was worried, for a time, until the blonde vampire saved her best friend, and in doing so sacrificed the twelve witches he needed to complete his expression triangle.

Then he saw her again. The Amara look-a-like. And another one. There were weaker, perverse versions of him known as vampires, with fangs and immortality, created a thousand years after him, that allowed more than one doppelgänger to exist at once. How he gloried at seeing her face again; like being in a dry desert for days and seeing a lake. They almost made up for her absence, especially the curly haired one who had fed him the Hunter and had a snarky attitude and a severe survival instinct. The other one was a poor substation for Amara; she didn't even deserve to exist, to wear that beautiful face every day, bearing the gift of the beauty of another.

Something tugged deep inside him as he thought of her, a feeling that swooped through his body, one he had almost forgotten about... he didn't _care_ for Amara's shadow, did he? He must be imprinting his feelings for Amara onto her, using her as a substitution. Yes, yes that was it. A replacement for his true love.

Which is what he told himself, over and over again as he toyed with the Hybrid's mind, the one who had chased Amara's shadow for five hundred years and tormented her very soul. What he told himself when he stabbed Klaus with the white oak stake, making him think that an unbreakable object somehow got lodged inside him and was killing him. _That_ had been particularly fun, though not for the reasons he tried to convince himself of.

No, Silas felt almost _protective_ of her. Which he couldn't allow. He couldn't form an attachment to a woman he had never officially met. Especially since she was known as a heartbreaker, soul-stealer, manipulative bitch, etc. If he did, he knew he would never go through with his plan, which he was already beginning to rethink. He _wanted_ to be with Amara. The only way to do that was to focus on his plan, without any distractions.

She was in love with the Hybrid's brother anyway. Not that he cared.

**-X-**

The veil was down. Sort of. Bonnie had betrayed him, but then, who hadn't seen that coming? He was always one step ahead, and always would be. Though what he didn't expect was Amara's shadow to be involved in the plan. He watched them from afar, pondering on how he was going to convince Bonnie to drop the veil completely so he could take the cure, and how to avoid getting the doppelgänger involved in the process.

Well, not so much convince, but threaten at this stage. Silas had the advantage; he had the cure, mental powers capable of deceiving anyone from discovering his true self, which he used to his upmost ability, choking Bonnie into a silent pact she didn't want to be apart of, before searching for her friends, fully intent on picking them off one by one if it meant her co-operation.

And if he went out of his way to see Amara's doppelgänger along the way, then that was purely coincidental.

**-X-**

He was turned to stone again. An agonising paralysing moment which had him on his knees in front of the Bennett witch writhing in agony, covering his face with his stony hands, hiding his identity once more.

Back to square one; and the anger and pain he felt was almost imaginable, but he had done this for two thousand years, he was sure he could do it again, if it meant being reunited with Amara in the end.

He was wrapped in a bag, discarded in the Boarding House basement, he felt he had nothing to lose.

But then, not a day later, he felt the spell relinquishing from his body, returning him to his glorified state of immortality and restoring his freedom. Bonnie must have died somehow; much to his relief. Another obstacle out of the way, though the one thing able to give him Amara also gone, but it didn't matter.

There would be other ways of getting what he wanted. And he had all the time in the world.

There were just a few things to do before that time came.

**-X-**

He revealed himself to his doppelgänger. Stefan Salvatore, pure heart and kind mind. Hard to believe he was related to a man who had let everything been taken from him so easily. Though it just made stealing his identity so much more simple.

At first he took on the form of Stefan's love, the _other_ Amara look-alike, the one who wasn't worthy of the face she wore. Stefan's supposed fated love, though he much preferred the blonde vampire.

"I created the immortality spell two thousand years ago. I could never die. So nature needed to find a balance. A version of me that could die. A shadow self. A doppelgänger."

He let Stefan think he was just another Amara doppelgänger. "So, this is your real face. You're just another one of them?"

Silas smirked, relishing in the life he was about to destroy. "Not exactly."

Then he showed Stefan who he really was. Him. A copy, another doppelgänger, of Silas himself.

"Hello, my shadow self."

Stefan stood there, stupified into silence, as Silas approached him, wooden stake gripped into his hand. He moved, swiftly imbedding the wood into his doppelgängers stomach, even as Stefan realised what had happened, far, far too late.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to starve for two thousand years?" Silas hissed into his ear, the full brunt of his anger and hostility seeping into his voice, his actions as he twisted the stake in deeper. His question was meant to be a rhetorical one, though a rhetorical device was not what Silas had planned.

No, Stefan Salvatore would suffer as much as Silas had suffered. Soon he would learn what it was like to be forgotten. Left alone and afraid.

He dragged Stefan's now compliant body into the safe meant for him, locking it with final absolution, and then shoving it off the cliff, sending it tumbling down into the quarry below.

He smiled sadistically as the safe was swallowed up by the inky waters, immersed in suffering.

Now he could re-explore the world again, with a free alibi as Stefan Salvatore.

Starting with _her_.

Amara's _true_ doppelgänger.

Katherine Pierce.


	3. Chapter 3

Katherine ached all over.

It wasn't even an understatement. Her body was sore, throbbing in agony, after being malnutritioned for three months, and her hair hung in knotted clumps around her head.

She hated being human. She _hated_ Elena Gilbert. Death would have been better than this; scrounging for food, sleeping in slums or on the streets, not able to settle long enough before having to run from whatever thing was chasing her.

Of course, she had money. Over the last century or so, she had been saving up money in case she ended up living somewhere where everyone was on vervain, but it wasn't enough to buy an apartment or a car to make a quick getaway. Just enough to stay in a bed and breakfast or rent out a place for a few days, for the first few weeks anyway. Now she was on her last two hundred dollars, and had to resort to wearing a baseball cap and a thick jacket to disguise herself, on the way to her last hope; Mystic Falls.

Popping the last part of her energy bar into her mouth, Katherine pulled her hoodie over her head and walked along the pavement, hidden in the shadows, hobbling along in her high heels painfully.

It was six in the morning, she'd spent the entire summer avoiding this place, just so precious little Elena Gilbert wouldn't get her Scooby gang to kill her on sight. Now with her doppelgänger all grown up and going off to college, she may have a chance of pleading with Damon to let her stay at the Boarding House for a while, out of sight of whatever had been chasing her.

The house was in sight, much to her relief. Two hours of walking with no taxi anywhere in sight took its toll on her feet. Luckily, Elena and Jeremy would be leaving early to go to school so she wouldn't have to wait long, so she hid in the bushes round the back of the house.

She didn't have to wait long; Caroline's car pulled up in the drive not an hour later, and Elena left with her suitcase not long after, giving Damon goo goo eyes. Huh. That was new. Apparently Elena had chosen Damon and they had embarked on a summer romance. She wondered what Stefan thought of it all, whether he had left or had endured. Probably the former. Hmm, maybe her and Stefan could have some revenge se-

A car engine jerked to life, interrupting her thoughts. Looking up, Katherine saw Caroline pulling out of the driveway, disappearing onto the road. Not long after that, little Gilbert left the house with Damon, Damon driving his Porsche out the gates, presumably towards the school. Another shock. So Bonnie had brought Jeremy back to life. Interesting. She hadn't seen her with Caroline and Elena, so where had she gone? To hell, she hoped.

Anyway, time to beg with Damon. Hopping out of the bush, Katherine hurried towards the house, opening the always unlocked door and inviting herself in. She quickly hurried to the kitchen, finding all sorts of food in the fridge. Anything she could eat raw, she ate or drank down greedily until her stomach for the first time in three months was finally full. Then she helped herself to some of Damon's bourbon, which she had conveniently drank two glasses of before he came back, a shocked and amused look on his face at her dishevelled appearance as she glowered at him.

"It's been a long summer, Damon."

His face took on a grimace. "Katherine."

She grinned at him, finishing her drink and pouring out another one. "You'll have to cut me off soon. My tolerance is a joke now. It's just so...glorious." The bitterness in her voice couldn't have been missed by Damon.

"You're miserable." Damon stated.

Katherine snorted. "Please. I'm Katherine Pierce – I'm a survivor." She scoffed.

"You're a liar." Damon shot back, stepping towards her. "Your hair's messed up, your nails are chipped. You're a sad and miserable human being and you want me to turn you. So, here." Damon bit his wrist open and offered it to her.

"Go ahead, drink up. I'll kill you, you'll bite the mailman, you'll be a vampire again." Katherine grabbed his arm, looking at it, tempted but torn. "Go ahead, come on."

"I can't, okay?" Katherine snapped, admitting the fear that had driven her to Mystic Falls. "No one's ever taken the cure before. If I die, there's a good chance I may never wake up."

"And that would be tragic." Damon quipped, looking quite unconcerned.

"And deep down, in that mushy-gushy Elena-loving heart, there's a part of you that doesn't want me to die." Katherine smiled, stroking the collar of Damon's shirt.

"What are you doing here, Katherine?" He asked her softly.

She was saved by the house phone ringing. Damon moved to get it but Katherine grabbed it and answered it first.

"Salvatore residence. Hello, Principal Weber, this is Elena." She smirked, adopting her doppelgängers innocent façade.

The Principal quickly informed her that Jeremy had been involved in a serious fight and had disappeared, but had been expelled.

She added faux empathy to her tone. "Oh, dear. We'll find him."

She hung up and faced Damon.

"So Jeremy's been expelled. Elena will be cool with that, right?"

Damon frowned. "When I get back here, you're gone." He headed for the door. Katherine grabbed his arm, desperate.

"Wait, Damon. There's someone chasing me."

"Then run." Damon deadpanned. "Run far away."

"Damon, you don't understand. I have enemies everywhere. What happens when word gets out that I'm a human? I can't protect myself!" Katherine blurted out frantically.

"I'm weak and I'm slow – do you have any idea what it's like to run in heels?! I have _blisters_ , Damon!"

She closed her eyes, taking in a huge breath. "So, please, just... help me?"

 

 

**-X-**

 

 

Katherine sighed in bliss as she soaked in Damon's bathtub, shaving her legs, which were in much need of attention. After a long and irritating argument, Damon had relented and let her stay for a few days, and whilst he was out, she took the opportunity to steal all his soap and shampoo. She was just starting on her second leg when a knock made her jump and look up in alarm. When she saw it was only Stefan, who had made a miraculous return, she relaxed, putting down her razor, and looking up at him with a relaxed smirk.

"Why are you in my brother's bathtub?" He asked, stepping into the bathroom.

"Why aren't you?" She shot back, flicking the bubbles on her body in a playful manner.

Stefan stepped closer, sitting beside the bath next to her. Her breath hitched as he looked down at her, his green eyes bright in the light. They'd never looked like that before.

"I will say that's a tempting offer." Stefan smirked, leaning down.

"Mmm, he flirts. I like Elena-less Stefan." She grinned, sitting up.

"You know," he smiled, reaching a hand out to touch her cheek. "human looks better on you than I would've guessed, Katherine."

Her cheek tingled where he touched it. "I think you just accidentally gave me a compliment." She smirked, dubious. He hasn't shown any interest in her before, why would he now?

"No, I mean it. You, sitting here all weak and vulnerable. It works."

Katherine's smirk faded, her eyes fixated on his hand. He was so close now that his lips were basically touching hers, and she was so so so close to kissing him, when he whispered something in her ear. It sounded an awful lot like "sorry"

She looked up at him, confused, when he suddenly attacked her, grabbing her by the throat and throwing her back into the tub. Black dots appeared in her vision as she clawed frantically at his hand in terror and panic. This wasn't Stefan, it was _Silas._ Stefan would never attack her like this, not for no good reason.

"Time for a field trip." Silas hissed, using his leverage on her throat to try and drag her out of the bath. That was _not_ happening.

Katherine fumbled at the side of the tub, her hand finding her razor. She grabbed and swiped it at Silas, catching him in the cheek, knocking him sideways, causing him to lose his grip on her. She jumped out of the bath, wrapping a robe around her and hurried down the staircase, looking up at the approaching figure of Silas, when she ran into Damon. He grabbed and handed her to Jeremy.

"Get her out of here. Don't tell me where you're going." He warned as Jeremy ushered her out if the house, into a car and drove off.

The first five minutes were deadened silence, as Katherine recovered from her shock that apparently Silas was not dead and for some reason he was impersonating Stefan and he wanted _her._

"Where are we going?" Katherine demanded, glaring at him. She was met with the continuing silence.

She turned around to glower at Jeremy. "Are you deaf? I said where are we going?"

He still wouldn't answer her, much preferring to pick up his ringing phone.

"Hey." Jeremy said into the phone.

"How far'd you get?" Damon's voice floated out of the phone.

"You said not to tell you."

"You pick _now_ to listen to me?"

Jeremy sighed, looking out his window. "We just passed Old Miller Road."

"Good. Turn around, bring her back."

Katherine whipped around to face Jeremy in shock. "What? No!" But Jeremy had already hung up made a U-turn back to where they came from.

"What are you doing?" She yelled, panicked. "Jeremy, stop! You can't take me back there, Jeremy. Damon wouldn't just hand me over, Silas _clearly_ got in his head!"

"Shut up, Katherine!" Jeremy snapped. Katherine looked around, wild-eyed and desperate. She couldn't let him take her back there. Silas would kill her! Instincts took over, to flee, escape and she jabbed frantically at Jeremy's seat belt to get him to stop driving.

"Hey, what the hell!" Jeremy cried, grabbing at her with one hand. The car veered sideways as he lost control, and Katherine grabbed the wheel and twisted it, sending the car skidding right into a utility pole. Katherine's head slammed into the front window, pain erupting across her face and head as she struggled frantically to get out of the car.

Luckily her door had been jarred loose during the crash, meaning with a few pushes it was open and she staggered out into the night. Shards of glass littered the ground, and a few feet away she saw Jeremy on his back, blood covering his face and matting his shirt.

"Hey... please..." He weakly stretched out an arm to her as he coughed and wheezed. Katherine stepped towards him, to help, since she was the reason he'd been thrown from the car, but then stopped. He'd been perfectly fine with selling her out for Stefan before, he was perfectly fine with letting her die, so why should she spare him?

Glaring at him one last time, hand outstretched towards her, Katherine swallowed her sympathy and guilt and hobbled away.

 

 

**-X-**

 

 

Silas was not pleased. He'd spent three months travelling all over Virginia, gorging on blood, looking for Katherine, finding out she had taken the cure, followed her back to Mystic Falls, then had had to resort to taking her by force, since his mind control was unusually, for lack of a better word, weak around her at the moment, and then had _lost_ her. It was infuriating, to say the least, especially the guilt he felt whenever he relived the panic and fear in her eyes when he had grabbed her.

Of course, it was partly because she seemed significant to him for some reason, but also because she had the cure pumping through her veins. Though he wished it had been anyone but her, he would do anything to be with Amara again, and his remote feelings for her doppelgänger weren't going to stop him. Nothing would.

Which was why he found himself at some sort of end of summer party, listening to the town's Mayor make some boring speech. Well, after this, it wasn't going to be boring any longer. If what he suspected worked, then _nothing_ would stop him from finding Katherine.

"It is – it is truly great to have an end-of-summer tradition." The mayor - Rudy - was saying. "My daughter has her own end-of-summer tradition of over-indulging in the cotton candy." He paused as the crowd laughed. "Now she's off traveling the world and sending her old man postcards from all her great adventures. Family is one of our core values in Mystic Falls. It's what this block party celebrates." Silas took this opportunity to step up onto the stage, interrupting Rudy's speech. "Family as community - Stefan?"

"Do you mind if I say a few words?" Silas asked, smiling innocently.

"Maybe when we're done here." The Mayor said, before turning back to the crowd.

Silas barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. "I'll take it from here, Mayor." He used his powers, stretching into Rudy's mind, manipulating, controlling. The Mayor nodded and stepped wordlessly back.

Silas turned to address the audience. "You're probably wondering how I did that. Well, it's pretty basic mind control, but until now, it's been fairly limited to one person at a time." He looked over every person, who had began to mutter frantically, giving him weird looks. It only entertained him more.

"But this summer, I have consumed an immeasurable amount of blood. And I've felt myself getting stronger and stronger every day. And I started to wonder; what are the limits to my powers? How many people can I influence? Two? Ten? An entire town square?"

The rise of worried people chatting became incessantly louder. "Everyone _stop talking_." Silas commanded, pushing all of his mental strength into those two words. The square fell instantly silent. Birds chirped in the background, trees could be heard rustling in the wind, but not one person uttered a sound.

"Well," Silas mused, half to himself, pleased. "that worked. Now let's try this: No one make a sound, or move a muscle."

Everyone in the square froze, staring at him, completely immobile. Silas walked over to the mayor, pulling out his knife, and without hesitation, sliced his throat open. The mayor gasped soundlessly for air for a second, before Silas let him slump to the ground at his feet, before stepping over him to get to the microphone. During that time, not one person had batted an eyelash or made a sound. His compulsion was working. Which only made what came next much easier.

"Well, now that I have your attention, I need a favour." Silas began, an arrogant smirk beginning on his face.

"I need you to find someone. You all know Elena Gilbert, well the girl that I'm looking for looks exactly like her."

 


	4. Chapter 4

Daytime. Finally.

Katherine sagged with relief as morning approached. Having had a fitful sleep huddled between two trees for a few hours, in nothing but a damp robe, her joints now ached, her head hurt from the car crash, she was freezing cold, her feet were bruised and filthy from wandering around the woods all night, and somewhere along the way she'd developed an awful cough that scratched and tickled her throat and produced some sort of yucky flem. In other words, what it meant to be human.

She stumbled towards the edge of the forest, approaching a neighbourhood, and saw a van driving down the road. She hobbled into the road quickly and hailed it down, waving her arms desperately. The van stopped, and a young woman got out and approached her.

"You okay, hon? You're gonna get yourself sick out here."

"Thank you so much for, stopping." Katherine gasped out the last word, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. Her lungs felt like they were burning.

The woman stepped closer, then stopped and frowned, examining her. "You look just like Elena Gilbert." She sounded pleased, which irked Katherine's suspicions.

"Actually, I'm much prettier." Katherine remarked as the woman dug around in her bag.

"Katherine Pierce, right? I'm supposed to be keeping my eye out for you." The woman pulled out a bottle and sprayed Katherine in the face with it. Katherine yelled as the mace stung her eyes and her cuts as the woman pulled out her phone and started texting on it. The woman must be working for Silas. Katherine gritted her teeth.

She was _not_ getting caught because she'd been _maced._ No way.

Katherine threw herself at the woman with all her strength, knocking her down, then snatching her phone and smashing it on the ground before punching the woman in the face violently, knocking her out.

Pain flared through her hand and wrist as she stood up. "Agh! Damn it, urgh!" She massaged her wrist and shook it, trying to alleviate the agony.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" A voice called out. Katherine whipped around to see Matt, cocking a shotgun aimed at her.

"Not as much as this will."

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse.

**-X-**

Turned out, they could. Not two hours later, Jeremy had arrived, smug from one look at her condition, and she found herself being tied up and shoved into a car by Matt whilst Jeremy called Damon and informed him that they had caught her.

"Those blue eyes," she mused, shaking her head and looking at Matt as he knotted the ropes tight around her wrists. "They made me soft, I should have ripped your head off when I had the chance." She added snidely, coughing.

Matt merely smiled at her, and tightened the ropes further, making them dig into her skin.

"Are these ropes really necessary?"

"Bullet would've been more effective, but we're _trying_ to be nice." Jeremy said sarcastically. She shot him an annoyed look. "You crashed my car and left me to die."

"You were gonna hand me over to Silas to get Stefan back. I was just protecting myself." Katherine sneered at them.

"How many people have you killed using that excuse? Just be glad we got you some clothes." Matt retorted as he finished tying her up.

"Don't play the hero. You two are just waiting for the convenient time to hand me back over to him. I've done this a thousand times. I get it. I'm the leverage; I'm that thing that _everybody_ wants." She said with grim satisfaction. Then a thought struck her.

"I'm the freaking moonstone!"

**-X-**

He had to find her.

It wasn't even a choice to him. Like it was engraved into his DNA, the urge pumping through his blood.

Which was why he found himself at Whitmore College, searching relentlessly for Amara's other doppelgänger, and most conveniently, Damon's girlfriend.

Ah. He saw her through the crowd, talking on the phone; there was no mistaking her beauty. He would have recognised her from miles away.

She laughed at something, then froze as Silas approached her. "Stefan?"

"I don't know. Probably mope at him." Damon's voice came through the speakerphone.

"Stefan's here, right now." She said, as Silas stepped right in front of her.

"What?"

Silas pushed his influence into Elena's mind. Seeing as she was so happy to see 'Stefan', it was perfectly easy. "Turn off your phone."

Elena smiled, then pulled her phone away from her ear.

Damon sounded panicked. "Elena, woah, that is not S-"

But Elena ended the call, looking up at Stefan happily.

"I know you're upset that I didn't call, so I just wanted to apologise in person." Silas said, giving her a faux smile. Elena smiled, looking at him almost pitifully before hugging him. He tensed slightly; he hadn't been touched so intimately by another person for two thousand years, and the sensation was uncomfortable, claustrophobic, almost.

" _Never_ do that again, okay? I thought something terrible happened to you." Elena said, pulling away.

"Well, something terrible _did_ happen to me-you fell in love with my brother." Silas said bluntly, smirking as hurt filled Elena's eyes. Just because he like to torture Stefan, didn't mean he liked other people hurting him. And besides, he didn't like her anyway.

She looked down shamefully. "Ouch."

"Can't blame me for needing a little bit of space."

"I know. Where did you go?"

"Well, that's not important, I'm sure Damon will fill you in eventually." Silas shrugged.

"You talked to Damon?" Elena frowned, confused. "Because I just spoke to him, and he didn't really say anything."

 _Well,_ Silas thought, almost bitterly. _That might have something to do with him stealing you from his brother._ Strange, considering he didn't even like Stefan that much. He guessed he just liked him more than people who betrayed close family.

"Oh, weird. Maybe he has his hands full with the whole, you know, Jeremy situation." Silas replied, adopting an innocent expression, knowing full well she had no idea what was going on.

Elena's eyes widened suspiciously. "What Jeremy situation?"

"Oh, it's not a big deal. Jeremy got expelled." He waved his hand casually, as though brushing the issue aside.

" _Expelled?_ Wha-?"

"Yeah, and then he and Damon got in this fight, and Jeremy bolted..."

"Wait, how do I not know about this? Where the hell is Jeremy?"

"That's why I'm here, I was hoping maybe you'd know." He said, brow furrowed, though he already knew the answer, judging by the clueless and annoyed look she was giving him.

**-X-**

"Ugh. Thank God, we're stopping." Katherine said hoarsely, leaning her head on the window. "If I can only get out of the car..."

"Well, you can't, because as soon as we get gas, we're getting back on the road." Matt said, pulling the keys out of the ignition.

Katherine scowled and pouted crossly. _She_ hadn't asked to become human again, and _she_ didn't want to have the flu or a cold, or whatever it was she had, and have to keep on running from her enemies with the ex-boyfriend and brother of her doppelgänger whom she had tried to kill. "Ugh, but I'm dying back here!" She cried, her throat flaring up again.

Jeremy whipped around, glaring at her. "You're not getting out of the car because you want an aspirin!" He snapped angrily.

"Then maybe I can get out of the car because I need to pee?" She shot back. "Like, in a bathroom. Like a _lady_."

She smirked inwardly when she saw Jeremy visibly grit his teeth, before getting out of the car to go round and untie her, eyeing the ladies restroom warily.

"Hurry."

Katherine touched her sore throat dramatically."My throat is really scratchy, and my head hurts like, right here." She prodded her temple where a migraine was lurking. "And when I cough, it's _green_." She stuck out her tongue for emphasis. "So, get me some stuff for all that."

"Silas knows I'm with you, sorry, I can't risk being seen." Jeremy shrugged.

She glared at Jeremy, before turning to Matt. " _Please_?"

"Fine." Matt sighed, shutting the car door. Katherine smiled in triumph and headed to the restroom, whilst Matt went into the convenience store. There, she quickly made use of the bathroom and washed her hands and face to clean them up after her exhibition in the forest. She didn't think she'd ever felt so ill or exhausted in her whole existence. She slowly stepped out, peeking around. Jeremy was tending to the petrol pump, his back to her, and Matt busy at the counter in the store with a clerk. The clerk looked up to give Matt his products, and saw her behind the door. Realisation dawned in his eyes. He was another Silas spy. He grabbed a phone on the counter and Katherine didn't hesitate in running for the main road.

Jeremy saw her run past him and started sprinting after her, easily catching up with her before she got to the road, grabbing her arm to stop her.

" _Stop. Running_." He said, before grabbing her bodily around the waist to take her back to the truck, clawing and kicking.

**-X-**

"Jeremy's still not answering. I'm gonna hold onto your phone in case he calls back." Silas lied, pushing Elena's phone into his back pocket so that Damon couldn't call her.

"Why are you so worried about him?"

"Damon made a mess, and I wanna clean it up."

"Did he really think that I wasn't gonna find out?" Elena said. Oh, she was so damn _annoying_. Five minutes into meeting her and all Silas wanted to do was throw himself into the bonfire the college was making. All she did was whine and moan about her brother and Damon, despite her choosing to be with him, even without him manipulating her thoughts.

He snorted. "He's Damon. Are you surprised?"

"I just figured we were at a place where he wouldn't have to lie to me." She sighed, then stopped, realising what she had just said. "I probably shouldn't be talking about this... with you."

"It's okay." Silas smirked, pushing and directing through her mind, reading her thoughts. "I know _exactly_ what you're thinking."

His phone buzzed, alerting him to a message from one of his spies.

_Katherine Pierce. Route 9._

"Sorry, I don't mean to cut this short, but someone says they just saw Jeremy on Route nine. Do you know where he might be going?"

"Route nine?" Elena frowned. "I mean, there was this old campsite that we used to go to when we were kids."

"Huh." Silas nodded, biting back his triumphant smile.

Then she looked at him, suspicion in her eyes. "Wait, _who_ texted you?"

And then he grabbed her. It was easy enough, he had already pushed her thoughts towards hatred and rage, aimed at Damon, to fantasise killing him until the task was complete. He needed Damon out of the way, and if Elena killed him, she would be so self-absorbed and consumed with guilt that no-one would be standing in his way. All he had to do was set an emotion trigger, compel away some of her memories of him and send her on her merry way.

Not long after, Damon arrived, searching through the crowd, frantic and annoyed. But he was too late.

"Hello, brother." He smirked, enjoying Damon's reaction as he spun around, heading towards him with purpose in his step. "But I suppose distant nephew is probably more accurate."

Damon grabbed his throat and squeezed. But all it really felt like was someone pinching the sides of his neck.

"Where the hell's Elena?" He demanded.

Silas sighed. "There's no need for violence, Damon. You'll find her eventually." He used his mind control, easily pulling Damon's hand away from his neck.

"There you go. Look, I get why you like her. I mean, I have a soft spot for brunettes, too." Silas shrugged, then threw in one last dig. "What I don't get is why she likes _you_."

"That's 'cause you haven't had sex with me." Damon shot back.

Silas laughed. "Hmm. Cockiness masking fear. How transparent."

"You expect me to believe you came all this way just to talk to her?"

"No, that doesn't really make much sense, does it? But if I told you exactly what I did, then it would ruin the fun." He grinned gleefully at Damon's confusion and patted his arm as if to comfort him. "Enjoy the bonfire, Damon." Before leaving with the incredibly satisfying knowledge that he had won.

**-X-**

Katherine hovered by the campfire, hands out searching for warmth as the bitter cold of night fell. The two geniuses hadn't even considered getting her a jacket, so she was absolutely freezing in her thin, sleeveless top. Her eyes had been hopelessly fixated on one of the shotguns opposite the fire, when Jeremy and Matt returned bearing blankets and food. Maybe she could use it on herself, since with those two as bodyguards, her death sentence was inevitable.

"Don't even think about it." Matt warned.

"Please. I wouldn't even know how to use it. I've never shot a gun in my life." She sniffled, sitting up straighter. "Didn't need to- _I_ was much more deadly."

"Keyword: _was_." Jeremy interjected.

Matt stood up, grabbing the lantern near Katherine. "I'm gonna go get some wood for the fire. I'll be back."

A sudden breeze ran through the clearing and Katherine huddled in on herself, barely holding in the urge to cry in frustration. "I survived childbirth, the death of my entire family and five hundred years of running from an immortal hybrid." She sniffed, her chest suddenly clogged up with emotion. "You can understand why I'm a little upset that I'm on the verge of being defeated by a _sinus infection_." She sniffled. She coughed again, miserably, and rubbed her hands together again for warmth, when something warm brushed her shoulders, making her jump. She looked up; it was only Jeremy, placing a blanket around her.

Katherine wrapped it more tightly around her, and briefly wondered at what part of her story had Jeremy began to pity her.

**-X-**

He had found them. Hovering in the forest in some old campsite, he didn't have to wait for long before the busboy, Matt, appeared, holding aloft a lantern in one hand, and a hatchet in the other. Silas stepped out from behind a tree, using his psychic tendrils of power to reel Matt in.

"Not a word out of you. You can't talk, and you can't scream."

Matt whirled around, confusion, then realisation dawning on his face as he realised his will was intact.

"Yeah, actually I can. Jeremy, run!" Great. The cure, and Katherine slipping from his grasp once again, though it should have been impossible. The boy had no particular strength of will, nor could he keep his mind protected, so how could he be free?

Silas stepped closer to him, tilting his head, the boy more of a curiosity and an annoyance than anything. "Why can't I get inside your head?"

He used Matt's wary distraction to grab his head between his hands, attacking viciously, and slicing through his memories. One struck him in particular; A women giving Matt a ring, then a man performing a passenger spell on him, allowing him to see and track him through Matt.

"Now I see why. Somebody's already in there." He leaned in closer. "Why are you watching me, Traveller? _Odpowiedz mi!"_ He snapped Matt's neck, letting him slump to the ground, before moving back to hide behind a clump of trees.

Good. That seemed to solve the problem of passengers, for now. The last thing he needed was for the travellers to know he was free.

**-X-**

Katherine made it to the truck, tired and panicked, Jeremy on her heels. Jeremy tossed the keys to her.

"Get in the truck and drive."

"Where are you going?" She said, as he headed back up the path.

"I can't leave Matt." He protested, before turning around.

"Wu-wu-wu-wait!" She pointed her fingers at him. "How do you think I survived five hundred _years_? It wasn't because I was a vampire - it's because I _never._ Looked. Back." She stepped towards him.

"Don't be dumb - survive."

"That's why people treat you like an object and not like a person." He retorted, and ran off into the darkness as she watched, shocked.

It was clear that she had an ultimatum. Abandon Jeremy and Matt again, who were certainly going to die facing Silas, unprepared as they were, and continue running, with her experience she'd succeed, unprotected and alive, but alone. _Or,_ she could take the shotgun, run after Jeremy, and somehow sneak up on Silas and figure out how to shoot him, endangering her life further. But she wouldn't be alone. And she'd be protected, more safe.

Instinct told her to take the truck and run. Run far away as she had done so many times before. But when as she stepped towards the truck, Jeremy's and Matt's words resonated in her head.

_That's why people treat you like an object and not a person._

_How many people have you killed using that excuse?_

Katherine clutched the keys tightly in her hand, and stepped back. She didn't like Jeremy or Matt, both would see her dead, but Jeremy had told her what he thought of her, and apparently the human in her wanted to prove him wrong.

She grabbed the shotgun.

**-X-**

"Matt!"

The Hunter had returned. To Silas' confusion, he calmly crouched over Mary's body, looking at the ring the woman had given him, and visibly relaxed in relief. It was then that Silas made his presence known.

"Now, if my best friend died, I'd at least pretend to cry. Which leads me to believe he's not really dead. I take it that tacky old ring somehow protects him?"

Too bad you can't get inside my head to find out for sure." Jeremy said, standing up to face him. "Hunter's perk."

Silas smiled at his stupidity. "See, that's what you don't get. When I can read your mind, I at least have use for you. Now... I'm just gonna kill you." He shrugged.

"You can try, but none of your abilities work on me, so right now, you're nothing. Slower than a vampire, weaker than a vampire. I, on the other hand, am a hunter." Jeremy replied, deftly picking up Matt's small hatchet from the ground.

"Plus, I work out."

Jeremy suddenly threw the hatchet at Silas, who instinctively dodged it, which Jeremy used as a distraction to run at Silas and shove him up against a tree.

Silas pushed him violently away, causing Jeremy to stagger back, but he rebounded quickly, swinging punches at Silas. One caught him round the face and he doubled over, the pain quickly fading and he straightened, swiftly blocked the other blows the Hunter was throwing his way by grabbing his fists. Silas then head-butted Jeremy in the face, making Jeremy stumble back again, blood dripping from his nose. Silas grabbed the lantern and swung it lopsidedly at Jeremy but missed the boy by inches. Jeremy charged at Silas again, jumping on his back and gripping him in a headlock from behind.

Silas gritted his teeth. He wasn't letting this _boy_ stopping him from getting to Katherine. He snapped a small branch off a tree in front of him, aiming it at his chest. "You might be stronger than me, but you're forgetting... that I... am _immortal_."

Silas slowly shoved the sharp end of the branch through his own chest, until it poked through his back and impaled Jeremy's shoulder. Jeremy groaned in pain and dropped off Silas' back as he pulled the branch back out and slumped to the floor. Silas picked up the hatchet, looking at Jeremy, who had pulled himself up on all fours. Smirking sadistically in triumph, Silas swung the hatchet back, aiming for Jeremy's head when the gunshot hit. It wasn't until the pain exploded in his chest and he saw the blood spreading across his shirt that he realised that he was the one who had been hit.

Looking up, he saw Katherine, grubby and tired despite her beauty, wielding a shotgun in her hands. He choked, paralysed from the position the bullet had hit him and dropped the hatchet, hands searching weakly for the bullet.

"I thought you didn't know how to use that." Jeremy said, the relief evident in his voice.

"I figured it out." She replied, then pulled the trigger back, and without any hesitation, shot him again in the heart. The pain shot across his system, knocking him to the ground, his vision swimming.

For some reason, one he refused to acknowledge, the pain wasn't nearly as bad as knowing that she had been the one to hurt him.

**-X-**

Exhilaration. That was what Katherine felt when she pulled the trigger. Because whatever Silas wanted with her, at least now he knew she wasn't to be messed with.

She smirked at Jeremy's shock and his reluctant impressed look, even as they headed back to the truck, carrying Matt's body as quickly as possible. They dumped him in the boot to wait for him to wake up.

They didn't have to wait long; after a few minutes he jerked awake, looking around in confusion at his new surroundings.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." She said to him, leaning on the truck.

Matt looked at them, his eyes widening in shock when he saw the blood on Jeremy's T-shirt.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, sitting up and rubbing his neck.

"Well," Jeremy replied. "Silas killed you, tried to kill me, then-"

" _I_ shot him." Katherine smirked, with a deserved air of superiority. Matt looked at her, surprised, and almost respectful. "So we're even now. No more whining." She added, helping Matt out of the truck.

"Let's go, Silas won't be down for long." She said, closing up the boot with Matt and grabbing their belongings.

Jeremy seemed distracted. "Hey, I left a hatchet, I'll be right back." And he ran off into the forest.

He was back after a few minutes, during which Katherine and Matt had managed to have a halfway decent conversation, where Matt thanked her for helping them, and she replied jokingly that they were the only people who could help her, even if it was forced.

**-X-**

His veins were flames. Licking his body and destroying his blood, leaving him hungry and disorientated.

She'd gotten _away._ From him. The most powerful immortal being in the world, not to mention psychic and immortal, and she, Katherine Pierce, now a mere mortal, had taken him down with a _shotgun._

When he'd woken up they were long gone. Which left the only food source as the spy he had at a convenience store two miles away, which he had spent the better part of two hours stumbling towards. He opened the door and sluggishly walked into the shop. The compelled clerk stared at him, a red welt and fresh bruises covering half his face.

"Did you find that girl that you were looking for?" He asked in a dull, almost robotic voice.

Silas turned towards him, "Yes. And then she shot me." now more irritated than ever by the reminder.

"So now I'm a little bit angry, and a little bit hungry." He said, approaching a stocked shelf near the counter. "But luckily, you can help me out with one of those things." grabbing a plastic cup from a shelf, and a pocket knife from another, then headed back towards the clerk.

He placed the cup on the counter, then held out the knife to the man, compelling him. "Filler up."

The clerk took the knife from Silas, and used it to slice open a vein in his own wrist, and let the blood drip into the cup. Suddenly the front door opened, and a short man with thick bushy hair appeared, followed by the woman, Nadia, he saw in Matt's mind. The travelers had found him.

Silas rolled his eyes. "Oh, goody. Gypsies are here. Oh, I'm sorry, you call yourselves 'Travelers' now, right?" He raised his eyebrows mockingly and smirked. "It's much more P.C."

The man-Gregor-pulled out a knife. "You can call me whatever you want... when I'm gutting you." He trembled slightly, and Silas chuckled. His wavering act of bravado was truly pathetic. A knife. Really? That would barely cut open his skin, let alone gut him, and there'd be no way Silas would even _let_ him stop him from finding Katherine.

"I see, you're mad that I killed your blonde-haired, blue-eyed host, right?" Silas sighed, walking over to them. "That's what you get for taking over somebody's body to spy on me. But congrats, you found me. So now what? What do you want?"

"You, back in that tomb, sealed away for eternity." Gregor replied tersely.

Nadia took a step closer to the man until she was standing directly behind him. "That's what the Travelers have always wanted."

Then, to Silas' shock, she shoved the knife in Gregor's hand into his own neck, killing him instantly, letting him fall to the floor. He should have read her mind earlier, found out her intentions. It would have been a big time saver.

"Luckily for you, I've never really considered myself one." She smirked. "I know you can see inside my mind..." She added, letting Silas use the opportunity to read through her thoughts. "and I have my own agenda."

Katherine's daughter. Things had just gotten a lot easier. Using her, he could find Katherine and then leave Nadia behind. It would be simple enough; he could just compel her to forget him, or to leave afterwards.

"Yes," Silas smirked triumphantly, as a plan began to formulate in his mind. "I see that you do."

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

**Chapter 4:**

 

_Stefan wanders down the street, a haggard and drawn expression on his face, eyes fixated straight ahead. He staggers around like a drunk man, with his hollow eyes and lank hair, someone could easily mistake him for one._

_A bar named Jo's Bar slowly looms into view, with a broken R sign. The car park is empty and the owner is the only one there cleaning up. Stefan keeps stumbling straight inside, still staring straight in front of him. The owner, Jo, looks up, shocked at his dishevelled appearance._

_"Hey, man. Last call was four hours ago." She says to him. Stefan doesn't respond, instead staring emptily at her neck. "If you want some coffee, I could put some on, or..." she adds, assuming his silence is due to drunkenness._

_Stefan's eyes begin to go red, veins crawling under his skin; the uncontrollable hunger surges. He vamp-speeds over to her, biting into her neck and drinking greedily._

_"Ash! Aaah!" she shrieks, pushing frantically at him.  
Stefan stops feeding, and pulls back, his mouth smeared with blood._

_"Run. RUN!" he yells hysterically, throwing himself against the bar. Jo runs out the door, clutching her bleeding neck. Unable to control himself, he lurches after her, still weak, as dawn touches the sky. The rising sun begins to scorch his skin, and he looks at his hand, horror in his eyes as he realises he doesn't have his daylight ring._

He yells and screams in pain as he blisters and burns. "Aaargh, aah!"

Katherine jerked awake, taking in huge gulps of air. Sweat matted her clothes and stuck to her, and she had a pounding headache. The nightmare. The dream, about Stefan. Did that really happen? Had he really burnt in the sun? Or had that just been a result of her worries for him after learning what he had endured all summer? She rolled out of bed, heading towards the bathroom for some water, when she heard Elena and Damon talking. Why would they be up at this time?

"Fine." Damon was saying with great reluctance. "Tell me. I'm sure whatever's in my imagination is ten times worse than what's going on in your subconscious."

"It was just so vivid. I saw Stefan walking out of this bar. It had a red awning and this broken neon sign, and he was screaming in pain." Elena said, sounding upset. Interesting. Elena had seen something very similar to what Katherine herself had.

"Well, should I go check in the attic, see if there's a crystal ball? Maybe you can conjure up an address." Damon sneered. Ugh, he was unbelievable, this was his _brother_ he was talking about.

"Route twenty-nine. Jo's bar." Katherine said, approaching the bedroom door.

"I think I had the exact same dream."

Damon stared at her, then Elena, before groaning and sinking back into his pillow.

Yep, unbelievable certainly was the correct term for Damon Salvatore.

 

 

 

**-X-**

 

 

 

Katherine sighed irritably as she packed an assortment of medicines, food, and clothes in her bag. When an impromptu road trip had been announced to track down the bar Stefan was at by Damon, she was initially excited, before she remembered that she was human, and was prone to terrible migraines and stomach aches when travelling, as she had discovered with Jeremy and Matt, her mood dissipated. Now she was packing with much less of a zest, and more with dread

"I had a feeling that there was something wrong all summer, and I ignored it. But I was right, Stefan was in a safe, and probably killed whoever it was that found him..." Elena's voice drifted into the hallway. Still annoying, still complaining. If she had called Stefan, then maybe they would have found him sooner, but her pride apparently was even worse than Katherine's. "I know it sounds crazy, that I'm following some psychic dream, but it's the only lead that we have."

"It doesn't sound crazy—it _is_ crazy. But I'm open-minded." Damon replied sardonically as Katherine came into the room.

"Shotgun." She announced. They both glared at her.

"What? I get carsick in the back seat. Another charming, human side effect you stuck me with." She threw her bag down with their suitcases.

"Please tell me that she's not coming." Elena gritted her teeth, and Katherine smiled.

"Trust me, I have no interest in Katherine's well-being, but for some reason Silas wants her real bad, and if Silas wants her, I want her more." Damon hissed, looking about as happy about it as Elena looked and Katherine felt.

"Can't we just stash her in the cellar? Or maybe a deep, dark well with a pair of water wings?" Elena asked, looking at Damon innocently. Bitch.

"Do you really think that I wanna take a road trip with you? America's most boring, self-righteous vampire?" Katherine shot back snarkily. "Just remember, Damon wouldn't have to play bodyguard if you hadn't shoved that cure down my throat."

"You were _trying_ to _kill_ me!" her doppelgänger retorted hotly.

Katherine ignored her, settling down on the couch. "I will admit, though, I take great pleasure knowing that you wasted your one shot at human life on me." She grinned, noticing Elena's glare of fury.

"All right, play nice, or I'm gonna revisit the deep dark well idea." Damon said, shooting Katherine a threatening look, which was shrugged away.

"I wanna find Stefan just as much as you do, and not just because I don't wanna be a pawn that you can trade off for his life." Katherine said. It was true; she was concerned about him, more so than those two had certainly been as of late.

"I _care_ about him—I always have. And since we've been having the same dream... makes me think you care about him _just_ as much." She added slyly, watching Elena squirm.

"Okay, train's leaving the station. Choo-choo!" Damon interrupted, obviously as bothered by her statement as Elena.

 

 

 

**-X-**

 

 

 

"You ever play the 'What if' game?" Silas asked Nadia over the phone. Over the last few hours, he had been concocting a plan to get Nadia away from Katherine, whilst helping him, which included a GPS device, because there was no way she would sell out the mother she had been searching for for the last five centuries that easily. At least not until she had the answers she was looking for from her.

"When you're calcified for two thousand years, you learn to entertain yourself with these little brain teasers."

"Look, Silas, this phone is prepaid, and I don't have a lot of minutes."

"Oh, no, no, no, it's really easy. I'll go first." Silas offered. "You know how much I hate Travelers, so to prove your allegiance to me, you killed your Traveller friend, Gregor. But _what if_ it was all an act? _What if_ he's still alive?" He had to know if he was working with a traveller. They did nothing but betray each other and other people, innocent or not, always popping up, invading other people's lives, which literally was the case.

"You saw him bleed out. You _buried_ his body yourself." Nadia said, obviously annoyed.

"But _what if_ Matt's tacky ring brought him back to life?" Silas smirked craftily.

Nadia sighed impatiently. "If this is a game, it's boring."

"If we're gonna work together, I need to know that you're on my side. So, find out if Matt Donovan's still alive, and kill him."

"Fine." Nadia said. "Say Matt is still alive. What if he could help us to find Katherine Pierce? She's still your priority, is she not?"

"Yes, she is." He replied, careful to keep his voice neutral whenever speaking about the girl, who for some reason had piqued his interests in more ways than one. "So, get the information that you need, rip that ring off Matt's little finger, and make sure he doesn't cheat death again."

"I'll take care of it."

 

 

 

**-X-**

 

 

 

"You sure you know what you're looking for? Last bar had a red awning and a neon sign." Damon said for the sixth time. They'd been driving around the same route for an hour, and still, nothing.

"I'll know when I see it."

Katherine popped her head out from between the two front seats. "Me too!"

"Didn't ask you." Damon snapped. Katherine shot him a dark look.

"I'm just trying to make conversation. _Anything_ to drown out the sound of eggshells breaking." She commented cynically. "So, Elena, I couldn't help but overhear, you've been dreaming about Stefan _all summer_? That must be really stressful on a new relationship, especially when you're having those kinds of dreams lying in bed next to his _brother_." Katherine mused innocently, with a crafty smirk.

"They weren't dreams. It was just a bad feeling, like something wasn't right with him." Elena insisted.

"Oh, no, yeah, sure. I totally get it. There's still a connection between you two." Katherine said with a deliberate sarcastic edge. "Maybe deep down you know that he was your one true love and breaking up with him was a big mistake."

"Ignore her." Damon said. "As soon as the vervain's out of her system, we'll compel her and we'll put her on mute."

"Or maybe Stefan's been trying to reach out to you all summer, but you've been too distracted with Damon to help him so he reached out to the person that he trusts—me." Katherine continued, looking at the both of them expectantly, but they were both silent.

"Nah. You're probably right. Elena and I had the exact same dream on the exact same night. Why would that mean something?" Katherine asked sarcastically.

The troubled look on Damon's face told her that she was right.

 

 

 

**-X-**

 

 

 

Katherine was sore all over. At first she panicked, thinking that Silas had finally got her, but when she looked up and saw the sign reading 'Jo's Bar' in red, she knew that they had found the place in her and Elena's dream, and she must have fallen asleep in the car, and Damon and Elena had left her there.

She got out, stretching and massaging her aching neck, before heading into the bar, cross that she hadn't been woken up, and didn't realise there was a woman aiming a gun right at Damon and Elena until it was too late, and the woman saw her, turning the weapon towards her instead. Katherine immediately held her hands up in surrender, freezing in place.

"Which one of you is Katherine Pierce?" The woman asked.

Katherine panicked and pointed at Elena. " _She_ is!"

"Katherine's the compulsive liar..." the woman said, looking at her, before aiming the gun at Elena. "but I need her alive."

Elena sprang into action, immediately vamp-running at the woman, throwing her violently against a table and holding her there.

"Katherine, run!" she yelled.

Katherine didn't even hesitate, and bolted out the door, down the road and into the woods as fast as her legs would carry her, hating her mundane body with its incapability to move quickly. She stumbled through overgrown plants, pushing away branches until she came across a fallen tree blocking her path. Somewhere along the way, she had snagged her leg on a bush and pulled a muscle, slowing her further. She stopped, taking in huge gulps of air into her burning lungs, crouching behind it, looking around anxiously for a way out. Suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulder and she spun around, standing up to find Elena, and sighed in relief.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm really glad it's you." Katherine said. Her leg twinged again, and she balanced on her other foot awkwardly. "My leg is cramping and I'm freezing. Do you mind if I, uh—can I borrow your sweater?"

Elena ignored her and turned around. "Let's go before she doubles back."

"Why didn't you kill me?" Katherine asked. It was something that had been on her mind for months, but she hadn't had an opportunity to ask since arriving back in Mystic Falls, due to Damon's obsession with stalking Elena.

"If Silas wants you that means you're leverage."

"No, I mean, after you shoved the cure down my throat. I _was_ trying to kill you. Why didn't you finish me off?"

Elena turned back around. "You think that because we share the same dreams and both care about Stefan that we're alike, but we're not. I value my humanity, which is why I let you live—to give you a chance to find whatever shred of humanity's buried underneath five hundred years of bad behaviour."

Katherine barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes in annoyance. There was _no way_ Elena cared enough about her to give her the chance to redeem herself. "Or maybe you thought that being human was punishment worse than death for me."

Elena's mouth twitched, like she was trying not to smile. "Nah. That was just a happy accident."

"Well... thank you. I'm glad to know that you care." She said reluctantly, but couldn't resist throwing in one last dig. "even if you are a condescending bitch."

Suddenly, the women appeared and before she could blink, broke Elena's neck.

"Do I have to knock you out, too?" she snapped.

"Not necessary." Katherine said, and the woman grabbed her by the arms and man-handled her roughly away.

 

 

 

**-X-**

 

 

 

Silas heard them before he saw them. Arguing furiously, with the both of them seemingly about to rip each others heads off.

"Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I like to know the identity of my kidnappers. _Who_ are you and what do you want?" Katherine was demanding as Nadia dragged her out of the woods.

Nadia turned around to face her. "Ask me again, and I'll _sew your mouth shut!_ " Nadia snapped back as Silas got out of the car, leaning against it and watching their bickering with deep amusement, especially since their family resemblance was so obviously noticeable when they were together.

Nadia turned back around to drag her to the car, when she saw Silas, and stopped in place, Katherine hovering behind her, eyes wide with fear and realisation as she looked at him.

"Silas. Of course it's you." Katherine spat, glaring at him, covering her fear with contempt.

"What are you doing here?" Nadia asked, holding her behind her.

Silas picked up a small device from under the car.

"GPS tracker." He tossed it in the air and caught it deftly. "It's even better than a locator spell." He added, standing up to approach them, somewhat impressed with himself.

Then he smiled. "Thank you for working so quickly, Nadia."

"I'm not ready to hand her over yet." Nadia said firmly.

"Oh, that's right. Your fascinating unfinished business I don't care about." Silas smiled. He probed a psychic tendril around her mind.

Nadia flinched and stepped closer to him. "Get out of my head."

"What are you two talking about?" Katherine asked, staring at them.

Silas ignored her and began compelling Nadia, pushing mentally into her thoughts. "Let go of her arm."

He could see Nadia grit her teeth, before she very slowly and stiffly complied.

"Now I want you to pull out your gun... and aim it at your heart."

Nadia lifted the gun from her waist and pointed it at her chest with jerky movements.

He spoke his next command with careful precision. "Now, pull, the trigger."

The loud boom from the explosion of the gun skyrocketed through his ears. Katherine had reeled back sideways, hands over her ears, away from Nadia, who had collapsed to the ground, a gaping bloody wound in her chest that was already starting to heal.

The ringing in his ears quickly subsided, quicker than hers, and he moved, grabbing her roughly around the waist and shoving her into the car, ripping her away from her freedom.

**Thank you for reading.**


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